I Proverbi di nonna Elisa, raccolti da Daniela Mazzurana

Grandma Elisa’s Proverbs, collected by Daniela Mazzurana

Book presentation

Edizioni La Barelota / Numero Civico

Brentonico, November 2025

The proverbs and nursery rhymes in this small volume, arranged alphabetically, were collected over time, reliving them from memory: my mother, Elisa Zeni, adapted them to specific household situations. A little treasure that has become part of my “family lexicon.”
Daniela Mazzurana

1
A ‘n bom soldà ogni arma ghe fà
A good soldier will use any weapon.

If you don’t have the right tool, but you’re good,
you’ll make do with what you have.

2
A sette anni s’è putèi e a settanta s’è ancor quéi
At seven, you’re a child, and at seventy, you’re still a child.

Old age makes us children again.

3
Alla sera grandi palazzi, alla mattina né malta né sassi
Big plans in the evening are not implemented in the morning.

4
Allerta! Allerta, ché i pulzi i bèca la querta!
Be careful! Be careful! Because fleas bite the blanket!

A game that encourages fear of things that can actually cause harm. If the fleas only bite the blanket, they certainly shouldn’t be scary.

5
Aspettàr, e no vegnìr, l’è na roba da morir
Waiting for someone who doesn’t come is unbearable.

6
Bèi en fassa, bruti en piàzza
Beautiful in swaddling clothes, ugly in public.

Beautiful as babies, not so beautiful as adults.

7
Benedetta quela spósa che per prima la g’ha na tósa
Blessed is the bride whose firstborn is a girl.

Fortune lies in the fact that, as a grown-up, she will help care for the house and any younger siblings.

8
Carne de cristiam, no i ne vende en beccarìa
Christian meat isn’t sold at the butcher’s shop.

This is the usual response when someone criticizes someone for being too thin: it’s not as if fatness has any special benefits.

…

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